As a decades long staple to the listening audience, Morning Edition combines a host program in St. Paul and NPR hosts in Washington and Los Angeles, bringing news from overnight and information throughout the state and world. Programming includes reports and interviews.
June 24, 2019 - On the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn raid in New York, which ignited multiple days of protests and garnered the attention of the media across the country, Michael McConnell reflects on the fight for gay rights that was happening in Minnesota at that time. F.R.E.E. — "Fight Repression of Erotic Expression" — was formed in Minneapolis weeks before the now-famous riots.
July 11, 2019 - MPR’s Brian Bakst reports on how taxpayers helped fund 'Tonight Show' Super Bowl broadcast from Minnesota via Snowbate program, which aims at luring productions and fostering local industry talent. Segment includes various interviews.
October 21, 2019 - MPR’s Riham Feshir profiles Andrea Duarte-Alonso, who has been documenting the stories of immigrants and their children in southwest Minnesota.
November 8, 2019 - MPR’s Julia Franz reports on the Augsburg College varsity women’s wrestling team. The 2019-20 season is the first for varsity women’s wrestling at Augsburg…and the only one in Minnesota.
March 9, 2020 - MPR’s John Enger interviews Native American author Dennis Staples about his first novel, "This Town Sleeps." The story depicts the struggle of a gay Ojibwe man to accept a Native tradition where he rarely felt at home, while escaping a reservation he could never quite leave. It is told through the eyes of a twenty-something narrator, who bears a striking resemblance to Staples himself.
April 15, 2020 - As part of MPR’s “Portraits of Valor” series, MPR’s Evan Frost profiles Minnesota native Dan Cylkowski. After a draft notice from the Army arrived, Cylkowski took his notice to Fort Snelling, and was bound for Europe.
May 8, 2020 - As part of MPR’s Portraits of Valor series, MPR’s Evan Frost profiles Minnesota native Robert Eugene Holmstrom, who in WWII, flew top secret missions over Europe and never dropped a bomb.
May 22, 2020 - As part of MPR’s “Portraits of Valor” series, MPR’s Evan Frost profiles Minnesota native Dick Kern, who in WWII, was a tail gunner on bomber missons from India into China and Burma.
June 8, 2020 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer talks with Dai Thao, who remembers Marny Xiong, St. Paul school board chair, who died of COVID-19 at the age of 31. She was a champion for racial justice and equity.
September 28, 2020 - As part of MPR’s “Portraits of Valor” series, MPR’s Evan Frost profiles Minnesotan Joe Stephes, who enlisted in the Navy before the United States officially entered World War II.